Ride Across Britain: A Challenge of a Lifetime
Dr. Jasmine Winyard (Chief Medical Officer)
Ride Across Britain is a huge event ran by our partner Threshold Sports, for which TrailMed is privileged to provide the event medical cover service. It’s busy, but we take this in our stride, thanks to our excellent medical team of doctors, paramedics, and ambulance crews! This bi-annual event now hosts 700 cyclists over 9 days as they cycle the 980 miles from Land's End to John O Groats.
To support both the cyclists and the Threshold crew, TrailMed provides:
One of our double-crewed ambulances deployed on the Ride Across Britain event.
Two double-crewed ambulances.
Two Rapid Response Vehicles (RRVs).
A Morning and Afternoon base camp clinic.
Two daily checkpoint (CP) clinics.
The cyclists kept us busy each morning with a clinic focused on addressing saddle sores, which we affectionately named the 'bum clinic'. Control preferred to call it 'Op Uranus'. The clinic had to expand into an additional gazebo for the last 3 mornings. This felt reminiscent of an NHS ED shift. Over 80 cases were treated in an hour on day 8!
The ride up to Manchester proceeded with little medical excitement. The team battled with wet weather and the realisation that the Sudocrem and Vaseline supplies were dwindling rapidly. Our esteemed medical director, Dr Patrick Musto headed off at this point to manage the hectic upcoming weekend; TrailMed supported seven other events that weekend!
After Patrick's departure, we were hit by severe wind and rain. My first day at the event was a whirlwind. The team knew their roles well and cracked on with the day as soon checkpoint one (CP1) was hit with casualties of the cold and wet, and on my arrival, it looked like a film set. The local police had volunteered to help (they wanted to win local hearts and minds), so their vehicles were used to warm up riders. At the same time, we waited for the garden centre cafe to open for us. Great teamwork that morning meant that the ride proceeded as planned. That evening, we conveyed a septic patient and a chap with a recurrent elbow haematoma to the hospital.
Our fantastic medical team, deployed on the Ride Across Britain just before the morning clinic.
As we moved northwards, the team's commitment to their work was unwavering despite the effects of cumulative tiredness. Threshold provided a great base camp, and the medical team fuelled themselves with the coffee stand's coffee. Even in their tired state, individuals managed to stop and admire the scenery, a cafe, or a river paddle
You may not know, but most of our work involves taping (bums or feet), dispensing mild pain relief (such as paracetamol), or being there with plenty of encouragement. This time, we had a cyclist who came off and suffered a head injury and dental trauma and a crew member who had stroke-like symptoms. A big thanks must go to the local hospital, which did a grand job looking after them and facilitating a TrailMed reunion in their major department as we all arrived with our patients.
Sadly, on RAB24, the team had to respond to a more severe event. A cyclist suffered a cardiac arrest at the top of a steep climb. Thanks to efficient bystander CPR and a rapid response from the ambulance, RRV and later on the Scottish Ambulance Service, the patient was transferred to the hospital by helicopter. The team's response was swift and coordinated, and it was a testament to their training and professionalism.
TrailMed’s Ride Across Britain medical team at the famous John O’Groats signpost.
This was a sad event, but we would like to acknowledge how well the whole team responded, working professionally and efficiently with each other and local service to ensure that we, as the TrailMed team, could provide the excellent care required. The incident had an emotional impact on the team, but they remained focused and dedicated to their duties.
Of course, whilst the cardiac arrest was being managed, we still had cyclists spread along the route, so we also want to thank the rest of the team, who continued to work hard to provide the excellent event medical cover that TrailMed is known for.
A final acknowledgement must be given to our event host and partner, Threshold Sports, who worked hard to balance the mood of the ride following this event. The RAB riders were shaken by the hearing of the incident. Still, they were determined to keep going, and thankfully, we had no further significant events after this.
As the RAB24 ended, with riders having cycled 980 miles in 9 stages, we enjoyed seeing the riders over the finish lines and taking a quick photo at the famous John O'Groats signpost!
